Jelly Toast
by summercarntspel
Summary: Maybe getting sick isn't Chris' idea of the perfect start to a mini-vacation, but a quick call to Darren might help him to feel a little better about the whole thing.


Author: summercarntspel

Warnings: cuteness and sick!fic and a few bad words and some mentions of throwing up, so be warned, I suppose?

Pairing: Crisscolfer (Darren Criss/Chris Colfer)

Disclaimer: I do not own these men or Glee or anything of the sort.

The very second Chris opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong. Very, _very_ wrong.

God, did someone hit him with a train or something?

Everything hurt. Muscles he didn't even know existed ached desperately, his stomach was knotted up, his head was pounding, his sinuses were killing him...

And, of course, it was the first day of the cast's mini-vacation.

It was supposed to be four solid days of writing and sleeping and getting to be normal people. What a day to get sick...

And, to top it off, he and Darren had plans to go out for coffee and then retire to his apartment for a marathon of Disney movies. They were going to a have a sweet, nice little date...

_Damn._

While Chris laid in bed and stewed miserably, his stomach gave a lurch and everything went from bad to worse. He grabbed a plastic shopping back from the floor of his room, thanking whatever deity could hear him that he hadn't picked it up earlier, and proceeded to throw up. He was fairly certain things came out of him that he hadn't eaten since he was twelve...

And if there was one thing Chris hated, it was throwing up. Just add it to the list.

After he was sure his stomach was empty, muscles in his abdomen cramping up painfully from all of the exertion, Chris tied the bag, set it on the floor, and grabbed his phone. There were only two people in the world he trusted enough to see him like this, and he was pretty sure his mother wouldn't want to fly across the country to treat a little bout of the flu.

So, tapping the number he had set to his speed dial, Chris pressed the phone to his ear and flopped back against his pillows.

"Good morning, babe!" an overly cheerful voice chirped too loudly in his ear, causing Chris to groan softly, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning call? I thought we didn't have plans until lunch."

Chris sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, practically feeling his sinuses thumping against the delicate pads of his fingers. "Darren, why are you such a morning person on days off?"

There was a pause, and Chris could almost hear the corners of Darren's bright smile flicking down into a frown. "Sorry? Did I do something wrong?"

"Darren, I'm going to have to break our date..." Chris stated, voice sounding pained and guilty, "I feel awful... All of those late nights and lack of sleep must have caught up. Shitty time to do it, huh?"

Darren sighed, shaking his head and smiling the slightest bit. Sick Chris was kind of adorable... Not that normal Chris wasn't, but still.

"And you want me to come over and take care of you, right?" Darren asked, "You need me to nurse your poor, ill body back to good health?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Chris grumbled, though a tiny smile turned up the corners of his dry, chapped lips, "But yes, I suppose that's exactly what I need."

Darren bobbed his head, standing up and taking the last sip of coffee from his mug, making his way to the door of his apartment. "I'll be right over and I'll make you some jelly toast and juice, okay?"

"Okay... But, uh, Dare?"

"Yes, honey?"

"You might want to stop at the store," Chris admitted, thinking about the items-or lack of items-that populated his cupboards and refrigerator at that moment, "I haven't gone grocery shopping in a week... Or, you know, three..."

Darren laughed softly, rolling his pretty eyes as he slid behind the wheel of his car, "I'll grab some bread, some strawberry jelly, and some juice, then I'll be over, okay?"

"Okay," Chris smiled, burrowing back down into his blankets, "I'm going to try to go back to sleep... See you soon, huh?"

"Yeah, babe, see you soon."

The next time Chris' bleary eyes opened, he soon realized he had woken up because of rough, familiar fingers gently running through his hair, giving it a little tug as a pair of soft, lovely lips dropped a sweet kiss to his warm forehead.

"Baby's got a fever," Darren cooed in a voice he usually reserved for toddlers and small, furry creatures, but Chris couldn't find the energy or desire to chastise him for using it, "You want some medicine?"

Chris hummed in response, craning his neck the slightest bit to nuzzle against the hand, a soft sigh escaping him. "When'd you get here?" the younger man slurred, one hand settling itself cautiously over his aching belly, "Sorry I fell asleep."

"No, honey, you need the rest," Darren insisted, enjoying the opportunity to use pet names, something he was incredibly fond doing, "I've only been here for about ten minutes... Brian is very worried about you, you know. He meowed at me until I came to check on you."

Chris let the smallest trace of a smile grace his features, eyelids fluttering when Darren continued to play with his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp with short, blunt nails. Darren was probably right about Brian worrying about him, but the fat little feline was most likely more concerned about the lack of fresh food scooped into his kitty dish that morning. 

"You'd be a great father, you know... You're very good at taking care of me," Chris commented softly, wincing when a pang of nausea hit the center of his stomach, "Oh, God, I think something's eating me from the inside."

"I think you've just got a touch of the stomach flu that was bouncing around between crew members last week," Darren responded quietly, his free hand now moving to Chris's toned tummy, rubbing gentle circles against it through the fabric of his old t-shirt, "You wanna try to eat something? Maybe it'll settle your stomach."

Chris nodded slowly, glassy eyes peering up at Darren, making teasing grabby hands when he realized he was a bit hungry despite his nausea. "Did you get the stuff for jelly toast?"

Darren nodded, kissing Chris' sweat dampened forehead one more time before he reached for the plate he had set on Chris' nightstand. "I did indeed, along with some orange juice, ice pops, Gatorade, and some chicken soup base if you want me to whip up some broth..."

"You're the best human being ever," Chris complimented, managing to smile at Darren as he carefully bit into the corner of one of the pieces of toast, "I love you."

"I love you, too, but I still think there are better people out there... Like, you know, Oprah or something," Darren laughed quietly, pushing himself back on the bed until he was lying next to Chris, his boyfriend using his body as half-pillow, half-cushion, "I found some microwave popcorn in your barren snack cupboard, by the way. That could be a snack for later, too."

Chris continued to crunch on his toast, taking a sip from the bottle of grape Gatorade Darren produced when he apparently started looking thirsty, then tossing two pills to the back of his tongue and swallowing them when they were also handed to him. "You shaved," he observed, squinting at Darren and realizing his boyfriend had gotten rid of that scratchy but amazing stubble that often had a home on his face, "And your hair is _crazy_..."

Darren let another warm laugh bubble up from the center of his chest, fingers running through his slightly-frizzy and very curly hair. He had just gotten out of the shower when Chris called him and he didn't even bother combing through his hair before he left the house.

"You love it anyway," Darren smiled, kissing Chris' temple and taking his clean plate once both pieces of jelly toast were finished, "Now, how about I pop in one of the movies we were going to watch?"

When Chris hummed in agreement and shifted just enough to let Darren roll off the bed. He watched with tired eyes while Darren knelt beside the low row of his bookshelf that was populated which various DVDs and a few video games from over the years. "Pick a good one, even though I'll probably fall asleep."

Darren stood back up at that point, popping Chris' copy of Beauty and the Beast into the DVD player connected to the television mounted on the wall across from his bed. After skipping the previews and pressing the button to start the movie, Darren laid back beside Chris, slipping under the covers and letting his boyfriend bury into his chest.

And, as hard as he tried to stay awake, Chris was out like a light not ten minutes into the film.

Chris woke for the third time in the span of a few hours to the sound of a sweet, gentle melody. When the fog of sleep cleared from his brain, he realized the end credits of the movie were rolling and Darren was quietly singing along to the songs playing as the names scrolled up the screen.

"Sorry I woke you... I couldn't help myself," Darren smiled gently, his voice just barely above a soft whisper, "How are you feeling?"

Chris shrugged, smiling in return when he realized, happily, that he was feeling a little better. Still tired and aching all over, but his stomach seemed to calm down and the pounding in his head was now just a soft thump.

"Honestly? A little better," Chris sighed, nuzzling his nose into the center of Darren's chest and inhaling the soft scent of body wash-that stuff Darren had gotten from some fancy soap company but would never admit to doing so-and that musky cologne he had recently began using when he was running low on his usual bottle. "You're pretty great."

Darren smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Chris' head, happily surprised when he realized Chris felt considerably less feverish than he had been before. The medicine must have been doing the trick.

"I love you... Now, c'mon, you need to try to go back to sleep."

"Only if you nap, too..." Chris yawned, pouting when he realized it was already nearly two in the afternoon and this stupid illness had kept him in bed the entire day, "Maybe I'll feel better later and we can do something fun."

Darren cuddled Chris close once more, rubbing at his upper back, thumbs brushing over the knobs of his spine soothingly. "Okay, deal... Get some rest, baby."

"Mmm..."

And, just like that, Chris was asleep once more, dreaming pleasant little dreams as his body worked hard at fighting off this sudden bout of illness. The better he felt, the more entertaining his afternoon and evening with Darren would get to be.

And, hey, if he still felt sick, it wouldn't be anything some jelly toast and cuddles couldn't fix.


End file.
